The Guardian of Domremy
by Runess Flect
Summary: Basically a written version of the opening scene of Shadow Hearts II, with a few liberties taken. Soldiers are trying to capture the ever elusive Domremy, but previous failed attempts and the rumors of the town's mysterious guardian lower soldier morale.


Summary: Basically a "novelization" of the opening scene of Shadow Hearts: Covenant.

Disclaimer: Shadow Hearts is an awesome series. I mean I don't own anything. :D

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A clash of metal rang through the rapidly darkening forest as the soldiers readied their weapons for their mission.

Capture and subdue the town of Domremy.

The town was small and ordinary enough. Ordinary people with ordinary jobs and a seemingly ordinary church...

Troop after troop had been sent to that small town of Domremy and report after report had come back stating complete failure.

_Ferocious wolves protect the land here_. That was a rumor going around. There were ominous howls and some wolves have been spotting, prowling around the village at night with glooming yellow eyes...

_A black-winged devil protects the village. _Another rumor, much less plausible, but with much more evidence surrounding it. The few survivors and the bloody torn limbs of the unfortunates testified to a hideously strong beast...

_An angel protects the people. _Yet another rumor, with only reason behind its birth; the slaughter was always worse near the church...

The leader signaled to move and the soldiers tried to clear their minds.

It was time.

"Move out!"

---

"D-Did you hear that?" a soldier quivered slightly._ Howls! The rumors were true!_

"You a soldier or not? It's nothing your gun can't handle," snapped another. _I don't need this right now. The rumors aren't true. The rumors aren't true. I'm not going to die today at the hands of a demo—_

"Quiet, both of you."

---

_Shit shit shit shit someone's watching us I can feel it!._ The soldier grasped his gun tightly as he ran, sweat breaking out on his brow. He dare not turn around to quell his suspicions, to quell his desperately beating heart. The crunching leaves beneath his boots and the panting breath of the soldiers around him only furthered his paranoia.

Crunch. Pant. Crunch. Pant. Crunch. Pant.

Crunch.

_Oh god oh god oh god oh god..._

--

They were nearing the church. The soldiers stopped and Sergeant Robert surveyed the scene.

Messy graves were dug everywhere, each with a stick sticking straight out of the dirt with a German soldier's helmet hanging atop.

_So many have died for the sake of this small town..._

Once the other parties were in sight, he signaled to them with his arm.

It was time.

--

Three soldiers flanked each side of the church entrance while the rest scouted the area.

No noise from within the church.

With a grunt and a nod from his superior, a soldier kicked the door open, and a small group of soldiers cautiously shuffled in, searching for any sign of movement that would betray someone hidden in the holy structure.

They moved deeper within the church, into the main room with the high ceiling and the statues of the Blessed Mary and her Son.

They secured the room and the soldiers stood stationary around the room, save for the sergeant, whose footsteps echoed on the cold marble floor of the church.

Step.

Step.

Step—

The door shut with a resounding slam. Gunshots and screams exploded outside.

Only the sergeant rushed to the edge of the window. The rest of the soldiers held their positions, hearts in their stomachs and ash in their mouths.

Only the sergeant saw the large mass rush from the sky and stab a soldier through his stomach.

Everyone in the room saw the body that slammed into the stained glass window, the man's face petrified and dead.

--

_I am a soldier,_ Karin thought._ I am a lieutenant. I won't run away._

Not that she could, she knew. The church was small with only one entrance, one escape route.

She walked towards the middle of the room, nervous as hell, not knowing what to think, not knowing what to do.

She saw the soldiers ready their guns, their eyes flickering around the room, to each other, to her, to the statues, to the window, to their leader, to the ceiling-

The stained glass rained around her in shards and she felt a heavy shadow loom over her, drawing nearer and nearer.

Something heavy landed right behind her. The impact shook her body. Karin slowly turned around to face the demon, fangs protruding from its lower lips, hard leathery skin protecting its body. Cold, glowing, purple, beautiful eyes.

She stared.

She couldn't move.

A hard shove and a harder landing broke her out of her trance. The sergeant had pushed her out of the way.

Karin's head was spinning. She heard a thump and a grunt and knew that the sergeant has been knocked away. She heard the gunshots, and her mind became strangely focused.

_Why are they shooting at it?_

Strangled, bloody cries rang within the church along with broken glass and stray bullets.

Karin slowly rolled onto her back, arms sprawled out. She blinked and saw the demon tear a hole in a soldier's abdomen, spraying blood against the church walls. She blinked again and saw it stab a soldier with his own gun.

The creature's movements were precise and controlled, each motion fluid and graceful as if...

_...It's as if he's dancing..._

Her head felt clear, but her rational mind knew she was going insane.

She saw the demon rip a soldier in half, throwing the parts into the other soldiers with enough force to slam them against the wall, breaking their skulls.

She saw the fearful soldier throw a grenade, saw the grenade as it landed, as it rolled towards her head.

She blinked.

She heard the explosion but felt no heat, heard the soldiers' cries, but saw nothing. Then she felt arms, hard and leathery, supporting her body.

She blinked and saw his face.

When it dropped her to the ground, instead of pain, she felt a sudden compulsion to see its face again, to see his eyes again.

She got to her knees and followed the demon with her eyes. She saw hesitation as it exited the church, saw it glancing at the dead bodies scattered on the cold marble floor. She saw it continue on, saw the church doors swing open in greeting or farewell, saw the swirling tendrils of light embrace his body, transforming him into...

_An angel...an angel walking into the gates of heaven._

Her vision went white.

---  
Edit: Fixed some errors and tweaked some lines I didn't like. Thanks a bunch to ariescelestial for leaving me a lengthy and thorough review with a bunch of info that I needed. I really appreciate it!Lol I actually originally typed this up as a joke for my sister, with the ending being something like "And then she saw the title screen of Shadow Hearts Covenant. Three options appeared: New Game, Continue, and Options. She picked continue and then died because [my sister didn't care about Karin." Ahah yea, I don't really like Karin. Yuri on the other hand...drool That pouch that he carries around makes him look like he has a tail or two. Ah, Yuri. I squee for you.  
Edit2: Something went weird with this access it anymore, so I had to reupload it /

A/N: The pronoun shifts near the end were intentional. This was written kind of in a rush, so any helpful criticism is welcome. Uhm... yea I don't remember why Karin was there exactly, I haven't played the beginning in awhile, and I just watched some blurry Youtube videos to base my fanfic on. Yes, I know, sloppy, but this really was just to exercise my dying writing skills.

Anywho, you know the drill. Save an author, please review :)


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